Demountable and portable bath



Dec. 3, 1963 c. A. HOFFMAN DEMOUNTABLE AND PORTABLE BATH Filed May 3. 1960 2 IN VENTOR 2/14/155 ARTHUR HOFFMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,112,498 DEMOUNTABLE AND PORTABLE BATH Charles Arthur Hofiman, 22346 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward, Calif. Filed May 3, 1960, Ser. No. 26,495 1 Claim. (Cl. 4177) The invention, in general, relates to bathing equipment and more particularly relates to an improved bath especially devised for enabling the bathing of invalids or semiinvalids who are incapable of leaving their beds, such as paralytics or paraplegics or the like, and who are unable to bathe themselves.

The illustrated and hereinafter delineated and described equipment constitutes improvements upon my bed bath which is disclosed and claimed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,567,514, granted to me on September 11, 1951.

A primary object of the invention is to provide an improved de-mountable and portable bath which may incorporate mobile means to facilitate movement of the bath from room to room.

Other objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageous features thereof, will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention as well as a certain modified embodiment thereof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that I am not to be limited to the precise embodiments shown, nor to the precise arrangements of the component parts thereof, as my invention, as defined in the appended claim, can be embodied in a plurality and variety of forms.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention as mounted on a -gurney.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing one side thereof in dotted lines and in lowered position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of the invention, as exemplified in an adapter for removable mounting of the bath upon a gurney.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention preferably comprises a pair of end frame sections, two pair of half side frame sections, means for supporting all of said sections in juxtaposition to one another and in upright positions on a mobile device, such as a gurney, together with a plurality of hooks integral with said end and said half side frame sections and arranged in spaced relationship to one another on the top portions of each of said frame sections, and a length of water-impervious sheet material detachably mounted on said hooks to provide on said frame sections when arranged in upright abutting relationship to one another a tub for the reception of bath water, and means for lowering each of said half side frame sections of said two pair thereof for enabling the transfer of a bed patient from either side of a bed into the bed bath supported on said mobile device.

A still further modification of the present invention comprises a plurality of bed frame side sections adapted to be removably mounted upon a mobile unit, and an adapter element removably mounted on said mobile unit; said adapter element including a plurality of links pivotally mounted upon said unit at spaced intervals and adapted to be pivotally connected to the bed frame sections side whereby the frame sections side can be raised and lowered 'with respect to the mobile unit at will.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 of the annexed drawings I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention 'which is entirely suitable for ready movement from place to place by a mobile unit, such as a gurney which is shown in FIG. 1 and is designated generally by the reference numeral 300. While the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 is not strictly a bed bath in the sense that it may be set up 3,112,498 Patented Dec. 3, 1963 on top of a bed, this embodiment is in the nature of a bed bath since the gurney 300 on which the bath is mounted can be positioned alongside of a bed and the bed patient moved, such as by slidin onto the top of the gurney within the area of the formed bath tub.

With particular reference to the schematic showing in FIG. 2 of the annexed drawings, it will be noted that a somewhat modified type of gurney is required. That is to say, the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is in the nature of an attachment which can be readily mounted upon and removed from a gurney. To this end, the conventional gurney 300 must be provided with a plurality of transversely extending straps, designated generally by the reference numeral 301, which are provided with flanges or brackets 302 on opposite sides thereof which depend from the top 303 of the gurney. Each of the brackets 302 is provided with a pivot pin 30? for the mounting of links thereon hereinafter described. Preferably, the transverse straps 302 are arranged so that two of the straps are adjacent to the oppite end of the gurney top 303- while center transverse straps are arranged in juxtaposition as particularly shown in FIG. 2.

In accordance with this invention, I provide a pair of similar end piece 315 and 316 as shown in FIG. '1 but not shown in FIG. 2. In addition, the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 includes two pair of half side frame sections of which but one pair is shown in FIG. 2 at one side of the gurney top 303; such one pair of half side pieces consisting of the side piece 317 and the adjacently disposed side piece 318. Each of these side pieces are fabricated of continuous tubing of light weight metal, such as of aluminum, and include upper rungs 3 23 and lower rungs 324 together with end pieces 326 and intermediate brace members 327 which are preferably welded in position. As particularly illustrated in FIG. 2, I also provide in such embodiment a plurality of links, generally designated by the reference numeral 351 and utilize two of such links 351 for each pair of half side pieces 317, 3 18 on both sides of the gurney so that both sides of the framework can be lowered. Each of the links 351 is fashioned with a hole at its opposite ends so that the links 351 can be mounted on the pins 304 as well as upon a pin 352 on each of the juxtaposed end members 326 of the half side pieces 3:17 and 3 18 as well as upon the intermediate braces 327. With such linkage in position, it is clear that the half side pieces 317 and 318 can be swung about the pivots 304 and the just described pivot pins 352 in the end pieces 326 and braces 327 so that the half side sections 317 and 318 can be lowered to the dotted line positions shown in FIG. 11 of the drawings. This arrangement is provided so that a gurney can be rolled up alongside of a bed and the side pieces 317 and 318 lowered so that a patient can be moved directly into position within the framework prior to raising the rubber sheeting 337 to operative position by hooking the grommets 333 thereof upon the books 336 which are integrally formed on the top rungs 323 of the side sections 317 and 318 as well as upon the top rungs of the end pieces 3:15 and 316.

Latches 340 and 341 are provided for securing the side pieces 317 and 318 in operative upright positions to the end pieces 315 and 316, respectively. And, further, the gurney 300 may be provided with suitable reels 342 and 343 for carrying requisite hoses, not shown, which can be attached to fittings at available hot and cold water taps, not shown, so that bath water may be supplied to the formed bath tub upon the gurney, and so that water can be returned to drain after the patient has been bathed.

In FIG. 12, I have illustrated an adapter unit, designated generally by the reference numeral 400, which can be mounted upon the top 403 of a gurney or other type of movable element and secured in position. The adapter 3 unit 400 includes a plurality of transverse straps 401 each including a depending bracket 402 which depend from the opposite sides of the gurney top 403. The adapter unit also includes a plurality of links; generally designated by the reference numeral 451 which are mounted upon pivot pins 404 extending through the brackets 402 of each of the transverse straps 401 of the unit. The free end of each of these links 451 can readily he mounted upon pivot pins provided upon the side pieces of an exemplification of my invention, such as the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the annexed drawings and thus the adapter unit serves to mount a bed bath framework or at least a framework for the reception of a rubber sheeting which can be formed into a bath tub for the reception of bathing water.

It is to 'be understood that the appended claim is to be accorded a range of equivalents commensurate with the scope thereof.

I claim:

A portable bed bath comprising, in combination with a gurney having a flat upper surface, a plurality of straps secured to said upper surface transversely thereof, a first pair of said plurality of straps being secured to said sur face in juxtaposition adjacent to the longitudinal center of said upper surface and two of said plurality of straps being arranged on opposite sides of said first pair of straps in spaced relationship thereto, a bracket depending from each of said straps at opposite sides of said upper surface, a pivot pin in each of said brackets, and a bath tub frame component on said upper surface, said bath tub frame component comprising a pair of end frame section-s secured to said upper surf-ace of said vgurney at opposite ends thereof, upper rungs on said end frame sections, two pair of half side frame sections pivotally secured on said brackets on opposite sides of said gurney in aligned pairs, each of said half side frame sections comprising an integral unit consisting of an upper rung merging with an outer end and an inner end, and a lower rung, and a brace member intermediate said ends, pivot pins on and extending from said inner end and said brace member of each half side frame section, a first links mounted on said pins of said brace members and said pins on said brackets on said transverse straps arranged in spaced relationship to said pair of straps in juxtaposition, econd links mounted on said pins extending from said inner ends of each said half side frame section and said pins extending from said brackets of said transversely extending straps arranged in juxtaposition adjacent to the longitudinal center of said upper surface of said gurney, hooks on the upper rungs of said end frame sections and said half side frame sections, and a water impervious sheeting having a plurality of grommets thereon for passing said hooks and defining a tub component when suspended from said hooks (with said half side frame sections in raised positions normal to said upper surface; said tub component in operative position and carrying Water serving to maintain said half side frame sections contiguous to said end frame sections; said half side sections being adapted to he pivoted on said pivot pins and to be supported in lowered positions against the sides of said gurney.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 365,105 Smith June 21, 1887 1,738,017 Phillips Dec. 3, 1929 2,115,111 Lobb Apr. 26, 1938 2,195,955 Hillenbrand Apr. 2, 1940 2,567,514 Hoffman Sept. 11, 1951 2,576,623 McLaughlin Nov. 27, 1951 2,672,620 Gross Mar. 23, 1954 2,860,349 Blomqvist Nov. 18, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 910,026 France Jan. 14, 1946 

